How can Steve Kerr get the Warriors on 'high alert’ for...

1of3OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 24: Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors talks to his team before playing against the LA Clippers in Game Five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 24, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

2of3Head coach Steve Kerr meets with sportswriters after a Golden State Warriors practice session in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 before Game 5 of the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

3of3Warriors head coach Steve Kerr listens to questions from reporters during a practice session the day before the Golden State Warriors played the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, April 20, 2019.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

LOS ANGELES — Steve Kerr is feeling some heat.

Granted, that’s a relative term, for a coach who has won three championships in four years. This isn’t Jim Tomsula-esque heat.

But as his team heads into Game 6 of its first-round series with the Clippers, some people are wondering why Kerr can’t fix his struggling team. Why can’t he kick his players in the butt? Demand that they play harder? Act like Bill Belichick with them?

“They had us on our heels from the beginning,” Kerr said of the Clippers’ effort in Game 5. “They played harder than we did, they were more edgy, more angry, more competitive.

“That’s my fault. I’ve got to have the guys ready to play, up 3-1 coming off a couple of road games. I didn’t have them on high alert and the result of that, at this level in the NBA, is every team is loaded with talent. The team playing a little faster, a little harder often tips the balance. I thought they were more prepared. I have to do a better job of preparing our guys.”

So how does he do that?

Now Playing:

Steve Kerr talks about what he can do to get the Warriors ready for Game 6 against the Clippers

Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Being an NBA coach is not about being a dictator or a tyrant. It’s not really even very much about Xs and Os. It’s about interpersonal relationships, humor, strategic anger, trying to find the right buttons to push at the right time.

“It’s film, it’s challenging the group, reminding them of what they’ve done the past few years, reminding them that we’ve been here before,” Kerr said. “It’s human nature. You get threatened, you lose, you don’t sleep that well, you can’t wait for the next game. You win a couple on the road, you get a little happy, a little comfortable, you lose your edge. And that’s all it takes.

“We’ll have our edge back tonight.”

Though the fans at Oracle are upset with how the team has played at home, there’s a reason that a team might play better on the road.

“You’re naturally more on edge,” Kerr said. “You have a little more appropriate fear, respect. You feel more threatened.”

Ultimately, it’s up to the players to dig deep. They know that. They are experienced professionals with championship rings. This isn’t CYO ball.

“It’s on each player to get themselves ready,” Kevin Durant said Friday morning at Staples Center. “We’re grown. Steve can only so much as a coach.

Born in San Francisco and raised in Marin County, Ann Killion has covered Bay Area sports for more than two decades. An award-winning columnist and a veteran of 11 Olympics, several World Cups and the Tour de France, Ann joined The Chronicle in 2012. Ann has worked for the San Jose Mercury News, the Los Angeles Times and Sports Illustrated. She is a New York Times best-selling author, having co-written "Solo: A Memoir of Hope" with soccer star Hope Solo,"Throw Like A Girl" with softball player Jennie Finch and two middle-grade books on soccer, “Champions of Women’s Soccer” and “Champions of Men’s Soccer.” She was named California Sportswriter of the Year in both 2014 and 2017. She has two children and lives in Mill Valley.